trees and bushes which grew close around them. But now a prospect
of unrivalled grandeur was opened before them, if only had they been
able to enjoy it. At the bottom of the valley ran a river, which,
so great was the depth, looked like a moving silver cord; and on the
other side of this there arose another mountain, steep but unbroken
like that which they were passing,--unbroken, so that the eye could
stretch from the river up to the very summit. Not a spot on that
mountain side or on their side either was left uncovered by thick
forest, which had stood there untouched by man since nature first
produced it.

But all this was nothing to our travellers, nor was the clang of the
macaws anything, or the roaring of the little congo ape. Nothing
was gained by them from beautiful scenery, nor was there any fear
from the beasts of prey. The immediate pain of each step of the
journey drove all other feelings from them, and their thoughts were
bounded by an intense desire for the evening halt.

And then, as the guide had prophesied, the rain began. At first it
came in such small soft drops that it was found to be refreshing,
but the clouds soon gathered and poured forth their collected waters
as though it had not rained for months among those mountains. Not
that it came in big drops, or with the violence which wind can give
it, beating hither and thither, breaking branches from the trees,
and rising up again as it pattered against the ground. There was no
violence in the rain. It fell softly in a long, continuous,
noiseless stream, sinking into everything that it touched,
converting the deep rich earth on all sides into mud.

Not a word was said by any of them as it came on. The Indian